Always the Bridesmaid
by DawnCandace
Summary: Written for ShipWars! at ST Respect on LiveJournal. After Spock and Nyota's wedding, Charlene Masters gets a hand from her favorite Scottish engineer.


_A/N_: So, this was originally written as part of a Team Ashayam (S/U) round robin for ShipWars! at St_Respect on LiveJournal. The theme was wedding and wedding planning. Basically, T'Pring plans Spock and Nyota's wedding and hilarity ensues. Jim looses the ring, the guests get drunk on red velvet cake and Kirk's Alien Sex on the Beach cocktail, the bridge crew and McCoy put on an impromptu strip show, and Gaila corners a drunk Spock Prime in a supply closet. In the midst of all of the shenanigans, Charlene Masters gets together with the Scottish engineer of her dreams.

Always the Bridesmaid

The bride and groom had long gone, but the reception went on into the night. Many of the groom's Vulcan relatives wondered woozily back to their hotels, including a rather smug looking T'Pring and her obedient mate Stonn. Charlene noticed that Stonn took a few extra pieces of cake with him, no doubt for later. Nyota's older relatives left even earlier, leaving behind their younger cohort to dance the night away. Nyota's sister Samira could be seen slow dancing with Captain Kirk. Charlene thought they made a cute couple, but she knew Nyota would kill Jim when she found out after the honeymoon. It was a beautiful wedding and the reception was a blast, especially the performance by the 'Prisedales. Charlene did not know if she would ever be able to erase the picture of an air humping Chekov from her mind. Even though he was no longer jailbait, it still did not seem right for him to put on such a display. But, she had no problem ogling the First Officer. Nyota was a lucky woman. Too bad Scotty hadn't joined the gang, she thought as her eyes fell on the chief engineer. He looked damn good in a tuxedo top and kilt.

Charlene sighed, as images of her supervisor shirtless in just his kilt and tartan flooded her mind. She could picture him with long wind swept black hair, his face streaked in blue and white face paint as he stood proudly on a hillside with a sword in one hand fending off English invaders. His free arm would be wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his strong side to protect her virtue. Charlene laughed before putting down her Alien Sex on the Beach. Perhaps one drink was one too many.

Concocting wild fantasies about her commanding officer was becoming a problem, which was only exacerbated by their increased time spent together in the weeks leading up to Spock and Ny's wedding. She and the chief engineer had become rather friendly over their years working together. Charlene found herself sharing meals with the Scotsman from time to time. When they both worked the Beta shift, he would bring some of his better scotch to spike the horrid coffee the replicators made. It was never enough to get her tipsy, but just enough to make the coffee palatable and the long lonely shift more bearable. They would chat a great deal about their time at the Academy, their families and ship gossip. Charlene soon found herself looking at Mr. Scott in a whole new light. Just being friendly work colleagues was no longer enough. But he was her commanding officer, so she didn't dare make a move.

She scanned the room wondering where Gaila had gone. She and Gaila were charged with ensuring that the gifts were transported to Spock and Nyota's condo after the party. She noticed a red headed bridesmaid slip into a supply closet followed by an older Vulcan.

"Figures," she muttered to herself.

She looked to see if another bridesmaid was available to help her load the gifts into her flitter. Samira, she knew, was happily engaged with Kirk. Janice seemed to be molesting a very willing Chekov behind the DJ booth. Christine was walking out of the room with Len in tow.

"Great, I'm the only bridesmaid not getting laid!"

Charlene walked out of the reception room into the foyer where the table for gifts and the wedding registry were kept. There were a lot of gifts. A lot of large gifts. In this modern age, she wondered why no one just had gifts delivered directly to the recipients. She supposed that people must like showing off by bringing the biggest frilliest boxes they could find. She kicked off her heels and grabbed a box before walking out to her flitter that was conveniently parked just outside the side entrance. She balanced the large box on one hip while trying to enter the command code to open the door with little success. Suddenly, she found herself free of the heavy gold lamé wrapped object.

"You look as if you need a hand, lass."

Charlene smiled up at Scotty, her cheeks warm. "Y…yes. Thank you, Mr. Scott."

"No problem. And you can call me Monty," he replied with a smile as he boarded the flitter and placed the gift in the back.

"Monty?"

"It's short for Montgomery. It's what my friends call me," he replied as he stepped out.

They walked back to the hall to retrieve more gifts.

"I've never heard Captain Kirk or Len call you Monty," Charlene replied.

"Only very special friends get to call me Monty," he winked.

Charlene was grateful that her dark skin hid her blush. "Then I suppose you should call me Charlene. But never Char. Not even special friends get away with that!"

They soon made quick work of all of the gifts, chatting and laughing as they worked.

"Well, I guess I'll drive these over to the hotel. It seems like the party is winding down in there anyway," Charlene began after they finished loading the last gift. "Thanks again for helping me, Monty. I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure, Charlene." Scotty stood standing with Charlene in the parking lot, smiling at her fondly until the moments drew long.

"Ummm, I'll get going then. Good night, Monty," Charlene said as she held out her hand for Scotty to shake.

Scotty looked at her offered hand for a moment before grasping it firmly and pulling her towards him. Charlene gasped as Scotty put his free arm around her waist and bent his head to kiss her gently on the lips.

"Monty…"

"Have I told ye how beautiful you look tonight, Charlene?" Scotty asked, his voice low.

"N…no," Charlene stammered as she brought her hands to rest on his chest.

"Aye, ya almost outshone the bride, ya did," he bent her head and kissed her again. Charlene hesitantly returned the kiss, relaxing in his arms as he tightened his embrace.

"I've wanted to do that for quite some time," he whispered against her lips.

"So have I," Charlene confessed before sliding her hands up his chest to the back of his head, threading her fingers in his dark hair as she pulled him in for another kiss. This time she wasn't so hesitant and he wasn't so shy.

When they parted again Charlene couldn't suppress the happy smile that broke out over her face.

"I think I could use a hand with these gifts back at the hotel. Would you mind riding back with me to give me a hand?"

"It'd be my pleasure."


End file.
